Magnet

Hello Christopher, Many thanks for being in touch, I can understand your concern, and being from the old school! - I too bemoan the lack of a dipstick. Back to your issue:- Oil and filter changed 3 months ago. How soon after did the low oil level warning light come on? Returned to the dealer, but did they top up the oil for you, or have you now topped it up as recommended in the handbook? We hope so, but if not, how many miles has the car covered since the the warning light came on? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, Many thanks for being in touch, and for placing your advert. To aid it’s sale, would you be able to provide more information e.g. MOT and ownership details, bit more about ‘fair’ condition, photos, and an idea of the price you will accept for it? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Borg, Thanks for the additional information. As Cliff says, unfortunately, new may not equate to serviceable, despite the odds against a couple of them ( from the same supplier’s batch?) being defective. Couple of points here Borg:- Are we talking oil level sensor, or oil pressure sensor here? Make of the sensor/s and where you bought it/them? ‘.....not cheap...’. Have you compared the price paid with buying a genuine VAG - hopefully with a little discount? ‘ Fuse is fine...’. Have you removed the fuse, sprayed some contact cleaner, refitted and waggled the fuse to ensure you don’t have any contact resistance there? Contact on to sensor nice and clean/ cleaned and wiring check for any damage? From the book of simple things first - make sure the fuse and connections have been cleaned with contact cleaner. You don’t tell us whether the warning light goes out when you change the sensor, then comes back on, or if it doesn’t go out at all. Simple question, to which I don’t know the answer in your case, but does the fault code need to removed as part of this job before the light will extinguish? Again, worth checking - it could be as simple as that. Anyone on here with any direct experience of this? Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth. Perhaps

Thanks Dan, I would double check that he will indeed be concentrating on a compression test rather than just spending time (and your money) on other things. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well David, ‘.....not bothered whether parts are new or 2nd hand ..’ Now ‘.....trying to buy parts on the cheap since the STEALERS (your caps) charge a fortune..’ Fair do s as they say in this neck of the woods - you have managed to confuse me. Understandably, dealers are not in business to supply part numbers to folks who want to buy elsewhere. I can only wish you good, and repeat my suggestions under ‘... if you want to buy secondhand...’ Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daniel, Sorry to hear of your issues with the car during these troubled times - not what you want. If this were mine, I would be getting a compression test done on the engine before doing anything else. This will establish whether the car is suffering from valve and/or piston wear, and you can then hopefully eliminate this as the cause of oiling up these plugs. If this checks out OK, then you are at least assured that the engine mechanicals are serviceable, and you can proceed to recheck coil packs and feeds (swopping them over if possible) and plugs. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Vij, If it’s only primer that is visible, but not bare metal, then touching in with a brush could be a way of simply making it less visible, but if you intend getting it professionally attended to soon then best not to do anything at all, apart from giving the car a good wash! - before taking it in on Monday. This gives the impression that you are fussy about the car , so better chance of getting a good job done - wherever it gets done. ‘Taking it to the garage you bought it off...’ - sounds OK, but just beware that they may, just may, suggest they do it for you, which could be they take it somewhere, and they add their commission to the cost. If it were mine, I think I would be asking around for recommendations before committing to anything. You then get the correct impression of whoever is going to do it. Back to estimated costings:- I would be surprised if you were quoted more than £300, but I’m not sure of the general rates in your area. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Vij, Thanks for being in touch with the forum, and sorry to hear of your issue. To respond to your questions:- (1) DIY? If you are asking this question and seeking advice on ‘kits’, then please steer well clear of any attempt to do this yourself. Sorry but you are more likely to make a mess of it than you are to do it to an acceptable standard. Apologies if sounds offensive, but it’s meant to ensure that you don’t make things worse than they are. (2) Chips Away quote of £270 to £360 seems high to me, and if you couple this with the work being done ‘on site’ in cold damp weather conditions, then if this were mine, then this would not be the direction I would be going with. Alternatives:- Depending on what your general standard of care is with the car -e.g. get it washed once in a while, or very fussy about it’s appearance ( do the photos give some guide?) then you could decide to simply cover over any visible metal surface and forget about it for a while. Or, seek alternative quotations from recommended specialist body shops in your area who would deal with this repair in a correctly heated environment. I would normally suggest that you seek recommendations on who to approach from smaller car sales sites. These chaps usually know where to get good work done at reasonable cost. However, I guess these sites will also be closed in your area due to Covid restrictions. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks for coming back on this Octavian. I really like your logic of changing one thing and testing, before changing anything else. This makes complete sense, but few seem to follow the logic. What brand of filter did you fit recently? Oil being suspect? I wouldn’t think so. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Oil pressure should always be checked when the oil up to operating temperature. That would be after at least a 10 mile run. Many believe the oil is up to operating temperature once the coolant gets up to normal, but that is not correct.

Hello Derek, I would say you need to have the ignition switched on when you do the voltage check. If this all proves to be serviceable, to my mind, I would think you have been as thorough as possible with the DIY work and checks you could be expected to do. With serviceable glow plugs, and the engine turning over enthusiastically ( and starting OK when hot, but not cold) then if it were, I think I would now be investing in an hour’s labour at a trusted local diesel specialist to investigate further - possible injector issues?? For ‘trusted local diesel specialist’ I normally suggest asking for recommendations at your local taxi rank - these chaps depend on such contacts. Unfortunately, I doubt whether you are going to get many taxis on the rank in these troubled times. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ray, Thanks for being in touch. Are both types interchangeable by any chance - i.e. same fixing points and set up? Could I suggest:- Asking the MOT station to put the car back on the ramp and take a photo of your ones. Trying TPS (Trade Parts Supplies) - armed with the VIN. Try another dealer. As daft as it sounds - try EBay. Many of the sellers are very helpful in identifying differences. Worth a try. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Octavian, Unfortunately this thread is 11 months old ,and again the original poster didn’t return to update the forum on the outcome. Again, I can only suggest you send him a PM, and if you get a response, then it would be great if you could let the forum know what it was. In your case:- Castrol 5/30 should be fine, so this can be discounted. Make of oil filter? If you don’t get a meaningful response, then I would be tempted to replace the oil pressure sensor ( I would go with Bosch if not using a genuine Audi one) and carefully check all associated wiring. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Octavian, The poster hasn’t returned to the forum since the day he joined some 9 months ago. I would suggest you send him a PM. Perhaps you would be kind enough to let us know the outcome if you have a reply. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry John, I’m with Cliff on this, and I’m having difficulty in trying to work out why you need part numbers if you are prepared to buy new - just order what you want. You can try Audi Parts Direct at Cardiff ( part of Mon Motors) who might give you some discount. If you prefer to buy secondhand then EBay is a good place to start, and of course you can also register your wants with on-line car breaker links such as Partsfinder etc. - there are others. ( Sorry to those who, like me! are bored with repeating this). Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Peter, From the standpoint of eliminating the simple things first, then get the tyres checked as suggested. Good brands of tyres, matched on same axle and sensible tread? If you eliminate the tyres, then it seems you might be in for suspecting the rear wheel bearings (get your tyre people to check these for you), or the differential...but let’s not there yet. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, As previously asked, can you tell us what parts you are looking for, whether new or secondhand, and why part numbers are important to you? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks thanks Peter, Could you also let us have answers to the questions which were asked? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Peter, Don’t worry about being able to describe the noise, but can you let us have answers to the questions in my post. ’I’ve looked at the wheels and they seem all OK’. Have you actually taken each wheel off in turn (or get say a tyre company to do it for you) and thoroughly inspected all areas of the tyres - including the inner side walls? Sounds as if you might have only walked around the car and had a quick look! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello both, I’ve had already had a couple of PMs from Charlotte giving more detailed,meaningful information against other issues with this car. I’ve replied to her and thanked her for that. I’ve now had a PM from Derek - the original poster on this thread. This PM gives some - generally already known information, but nothing in reply to clarifying the ‘slow to start’ question:- engine turning over slowly, or enthusiastically but slow to start/fire? I wonder if I can ask posters not to PM me with answers to questions asked in the open forum, but to post their answers so everyone can follow the thread. I have asked Derek to post the content of his PM (and hopefully answer the basis question. Many thanks, Gareth.

Hello John, What sort of parts do you need, and where would you intend to buy from? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Could you give us a bit more detail, e.g. noise changes under acceleration, deceleration, different in different gears, and any change on cornering, and if so, left or right? Also have you removed the wheels and thoroughly examined the tyres for bulges and flat spots? Are tyres matched on the same axle, and of similar tread depths? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello both, I depends what you mean by difficult to start. If you mean the engine turns over slowly, then check battery (may test OK at normal temps., but can suffer from voltage drop at low temps.), battery terminal connections, main body and engine earth connections, starter motor issues and connections on to this. Its worth noting that Diesel engines run at over twice the compression ratio of petrol engines, so all the above are under greater stress than petrol engines - particularly at low temps., and batteries will need to be heavier duty to cope with this. If the engine turns over enthusiastically at low temperatures, but the car is still difficult to start - refer back. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks. We will leave the post run, since the responses may be of help to others in the future. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jo, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. Unfortunately, the era of engine reconditioning on any large scale is a thing of the past, as engines tend to last much longer - except in terms of catastrophic failure. So, I guess looking for a reliable supplier may have to be restricted further to ‘...a supplier’. Depending on the reason for having to replace your engine, you could find you might have to resort to a secondhand engine via.a car breaker. Try registering your want with on line car breaker link sites such as Partsfinder - there are others. If your engine is relatively underaged, but worn in some respect, it may be possible to rebuild it with replacement components, if (in caps) you can find someone to do this reconditioning work. Your best bet of linking into anyone doing engine reconditioning would be via. this facility for classic cars, so it might be worth looking up a regional classic car club, and making some enquiries there. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Have you looked on EBay? Quite a number of sellers seem to be listing them, but you would need to check actual suitability. Kind regards, Gareth.